The Angel of the Meadow is the name given to an unidentified murder victim that was discovered in Angel Meadow, Manchester, UK in 2010. Although she was discovered in 2010, the victim is presumed to have died sometime between 1970-1980 at 18-35 years old. Due to the extensive decomposition of the remains and the time it took to be discovered, solving this case has come with some difficulties.
On January 25, 2010, a group of workmen were preparing a site for redevelopment located between Angel Street, Dantzic Street, and Miller Street in Manchester, England. This area is known locally as Angel Meadow, a notorious victorian slum. During the preparation, a workman noticed a scull in the area. This led to the discovery of a human skeleton hidden underneath sections of a blue carpet. The police were soon called to the scene.
The victim’s autopsy revealed that they were a female between the ages of 18-35 when she was killed sometime between 1970-1980. She is believed to have been born between 1950-1954 and was between 5’1″ or 5’7″ tall. She is thought to be of European, Indian, or Middle Eastern descent, and also had notable dental work done. The victim suffered a fractured neck, clavicle, and jaw. Without an identity, law enforcement began to refer to the victim as the Angel of the Meadow.
Several items were found near the victim’s body, including: a plastic Guinness measuring chart from the late 1960s, an orange patterned carpet, dark blue and blue carpets, tights, part of a stiletto shoe, and a handbag. One of the carpet pieces was thought to possibly be from a Ford Cortina, with it being noted that it had a cut from the gear stick.
In May of 2011, law enforcement released a sketch of what the victim possibly looked like. Police confirmed that the victim’s dentistry did not match some of the records of victims who had gone missing in that area. DNA analysis’s were also done to determine if the victim was killed by some known serial killers, like Peter Tobin or Ronald Castree; there were no connections found.
In 2012, police announced that they created a list of over 20 potential identities for the Angel of the Meadow. Their strongest lead was a victim from Tanzania after a Tanzanian family made contact regarding the case. However, these did not lead to any identifications.
In March 2015, the Angel of the Meadow was buried in Southern Cemetery, Manchester, with only the 2 detectives working on the case attending the funeral. This same month, police confirmed hat a DNA profile for the victim was created and familial DNA testing had begun to possibly trace the victim’s identity.
There are still so many questions surrounding the Angel of the Meadow case. It is difficult that the victim’s remains were found decades after she was killed but with the new technology available now, there may be more advantages in finding out who this victim is, what happened to her, and who killed her.
Resources-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_the_Meadow
https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Angel_of_the_Meadow
